title: The cross-cultural adaptation of the DASH questionnaire in Thai (DASH-TH).
abstract: METHODS
  Clinical measurement.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Currently there are no self-report questionnaires in Thai to evaluate disability levels in patients suffering from upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To translate and cross-cultural adaptation the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaire to Thai version and to evaluate content validity, construct validity and internal consistency of the questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  The DASH-TH was produced by following cross-cultural adaptation guidelines stated by the Institute for Work and Health (IWH). Forty Thai patients with arm, shoulder or hand problems participated in field testing of the questionnaire. Content validity was determined by obtaining the item-objective congruence (IOC) value for each questionnaire item. Correlation between the DASH-TH score and numeric rating scale was used to assess construct validity. Internal consistency of DASH-TH was measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty patients (14 males, 26 females) with arm, shoulder or hand problems enrolled in the present study. The average age of patients was 44.8 years. The index of item-objective congruence (IOC) of each item ranged from 0.7 to 1.0. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.938. There was no correlation between DASH-TH score and numeric rating scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The DASH-TH has high content validity and internal consistency.
  
  
  METHODS
  N/A.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. Electronic address: sitongpr@med.cmu.ac.th.
authors.forename: Siam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tongprasert
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
authors.forename: Jeeranan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rapipong
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
authors.forename: Montana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buntragulpoontawee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand; D014175:Translating; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cross-cultural adaptation; DASH; Disability; Questionnaire; Thai DASH